The Seventh Avenger
by A Shieldmaiden of Rohan
Summary: The Avengers are about to get a new member. They're going to need her for the coming storm . . . NO SLASH or OC pairings! All the other Avengers are in it too, but I couldn't list them all because of the 4-character limit.
1. Second Street Savior

**So this is my first Fanfic ever! Reviews are appreciated. Constructive criticism is welcome, as long as you're not obnoxious about it.**

Tonight was just not Ryan's night. It had started off well enough. They had found some rich lady who was foolishly alone with her daughter. He and his guys were having a little fun, shoving her around and watching her and her daughter cry, when someone had interrupted.

Ziva was not in a good mood. The grocery stores hadn't dumped out any expired food today-completely ridiculous, as that food was usually perfectly edible. So when she saw some rich lady getting shoved around by four big, muscular guys wearing ski masks, she didn't plan on intervening. _The lady should know better than to walk around this area of Phoenix at night. _Then a small, quavering voice said, "Please don't hurt mommy."

The tallest guy laughed and, pulling out a switchblade, said, "What are you gonna do to stop me?"

Ziva's heart clenched. Without thinking, she pulled the hood of her sweatshirt up and, stepping out into view, said, "You know, if you're going to mug someone, you shouldn't do it in front of a camera."

The thugs turned around, surprised that a stranger would challenge them.

"That's what these are for," Ryan replied, gesturing to his ski mask. "And who are you, exactly?"

Ziva smirked. "The girl who's gonna kick your butts if you don't leave now."

When later asked by police what had happened, all Ryan could say was, "She was fast, man. It was like she knew what we were going to do before we did it."

Ryan thrust forward with his switchblade, planning to shank the insolent chick. Ziva quickly smacked his hand aside and punched him in the face. The next guy got an elbow in the diaphragm. He bent over, gasping for breath. The third mugger was dispatched with a roundhouse kick to the side of his head. "Look out!" the woman shouted- just before the fourth mugger shot Ziva in the back. But to both the amazement of the mugger and the woman, the girl simply took a deep breath, and sent him to the pavement with a vicious spinning kick. All this happened in about five seconds. Then she pulled off all their ski masks.

"Smile for the camera," she quipped, then turned back to the woman and her daughter. "Are you all right?"

"You- you- you beat up those guys. And you got shot!"

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Ziva reached a hand behind her back, catching the bullet as it came out. "I'm fine. Don't worry about it. You should be worrying about her," she said, nodding toward the lady's daughter. "Oh, and the next time you're taking a stroll through this area- don't."

After making sure her daughter was alright, the mother turned around to thank her rescuer- but the girl was gone.

The incident was published in the newspaper, and the mysterious girl who beat up four guys twice her size was nicknamed "The Second Street Savior." The police department kept an eye out for any reports of gunshot wounds inflicted on anyone matching her description, but none were ever submitted.

S.H.I.E.L.D. knew who she was, of course. But then, S.H.I.E.L.D. knew everything.

Well, almost.

**I promise the next chapter is longer. The story is already complete, so you don't have to worry that I might abandon it. I will always do my best to make sure the spelling and grammar is correct. I hope you like my character. I named her after Ziva from NCIS, but she is her own person. I will update every couple of days. **


	2. Recruitment

**So I see that a few users enjoyed my story. Here's the next chapter. It's longer, like I said. And since I forgot to say so last chapter, I do not own Marvel or any of its characters. I own only Ziva and the plot.**

Ziva ran back to the abandoned house where she was staying. Taking off her jacket, she swore when she saw the hole in the back. Her body healed fast, but her clothes, not so much. Along with her rapid healing, she was able to move at supersonic speeds- which is why she'd made it back to the building she was staying in six blocks away in only a couple seconds. She scowled as her stomach reminded her she hadn't eaten. Running and healing burned a lot of calories, and doing both made her feel like an animal was eating her insides. She pulled a couple Snickers bars out of her pocket and munched on them (one of the benefits of rapid healing was that she didn't get cavities). The candy wasn't much, but it would have to do until tomorrow. Rolling her jacket into a ball, she plunked it under her head and settled in for the night.

Two days after the incident, Ziva woke one morning to the sound of a truck rolling by. She stretched, yawning. It was chilly. Ah, well. It would warm up soon, and a run would loosen up the kinks. She quickly zipped over to her favorite grocery store. Finally, some expired food had been set out. Ziva had hit the jackpot, with a package of pudding cups, a frozen pizza, and a bag of potato chips.

"Let me help you with that." came a voice from behind her. Ziva whirled around, pulling out her switchblade. The man who had managed to sneak up on her was a guy in a suit. White, late thirties, about average height, receding hairline.

"Relax," the guy in the suit said. "I'm not here to hurt you."

Ziva rolled her eyes, retracting her switchblade as she did so. "You couldn't hurt me anyway. What do you want?"

"My name is Agent Coulson. I'm here on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Nick Fury was having an average day- well, as average as you get when you run a top-secret government organization that knows aliens and super-humans are real and is busy keeping that knowledge from the rest of the world. Then Agent Maria Hill walked into his office.

"Sir," she told him. "You're going to want to see this."

Fury walked into the briefing room to see the black-and-white grainy film of what was clearly a low-budget security camera. Four burly guys in ski masks were harassing a woman and her daughter. Fury raised an eyebrow, but knew that Hill wouldn't have called him in just to watch a mugging. Sure enough, a new person entered the scene. Female, about 5'8". The girl and one of the muggers had a brief exchange, and the goon then pulled out a switchblade and lunged at her. The girl quickly shoved the knife aside and punched the first guy in the face, elbowed the second in the diaphragm, and knocked the third unconscious with a roundhouse kick. The girl then began to turn, presumably to find the fourth, when said fourth shot her in the back. But instead of falling to the ground, she hit the shooter with a spinning kick to the jaw. The fight lasted only 4.97 seconds, and yet Fury got the feeling she was holding back. After pulling the masks off of the four, she had a short conversation with the woman before stepping into the shadows. "Zoom in there," Fury ordered a technician, indicating the area he wanted to have a closer look. They saw the girl's sneakers the one moment, and the next they saw nothing.

"Sir, nobody just walks away from a shot to the back, let alone disappears. Not even if they're wearing a vest," commented Agent Hill.

"Yes," agreed Fury. "What was the police report?"

"The victim said the girl appeared after her daughter asked the perpetrators not to hurt her. The shooter was unable to tell the police anything- he was in the process of having his jaw wired together. The leader of the group, Ryan Velazquez, said that she was fast, and seemed to know how they were going to attack before they did themselves. The local newspaper ran an article on the incident." A newspaper article appeared on the main screen, with the headline, **Mysterious Rescuer Saves Mother and Child from Robbers**. "The newspaper nicknamed her the 'Second Street Savior,'" Hill added.

Fury snorted. Stark would have a heyday with that if his plan worked. Of course, Stark was probably eavesdropping right now. "I want a name, and I want it ten minutes ago," he snapped, striding out of the room.

"Sir, what's your plan?" Agent Hill asked him, coming up behind him in the hallway.

"If you don't want someone falling into the wrong hands, and you can't kill them, what do you do?" Fury asked her.

He waited a beat, completing his statement when Hill didn't answer. "You recruit them."

A day later, Hill's voice came over the intercom on his desk. "Sir, we've got a name." Fury left his office and made his way to the briefing room.

"Ziva Savid." A missing person's photo came up, with the caption _Have you seen this girl? _underneath. The photo was next to a grainy shot of the teenage girl's face from the security camera feed. A police case file came up underneath the pictures.

"Ziva's mother died when she was eight; the father is unknown. She moved to New Mexico to live with her aunt and uncle until she disappeared when she was eleven. The uncle and aunt were taken in for questioning, but no proof was found of foul play, so they were released. Two years later she was declared legally dead."

Fury nodded. "It's time to send Coulson in."

Agent Coulson sat at his desk, filling out paperwork regarding the Avengers' latest battle, when Fury's voice crackled into his earpiece. "Agent Coulson, I need you to come to my office. You've got a new assignment."

"On my way," Coulson replied.

After Coulson was briefed on the potential recruit, he had one final question. "Sir, how dangerous is she, exactly?"

"We're not sure yet. But she put down four guys, and she doesn't appear to have had any combat training. She also walked away from a bullet. My suggestion is to proceed with extreme caution."

"Understood."

The S.H.I.E.L.D. jet touched down on the outskirts of Phoenix, Arizona that night.

Agent Coulson found Ziva several hours later . . . dumpster diving. Other agents might have been surprised, but Coulson had seen it all. He waited a moment for her to get out of the dumpster before saying, "Let me help you with that."

The girl whipped around faster than humanly possible, drawing out a switchblade as she did so. "Relax," Coulson told her, raising his hands in a nonthreatening manner. "I'm not here to hurt you."

The girl rolled her eyes, retracting her switchblade and shoving it into her pocket. "You couldn't hurt me anyway. What do you want?"

"My name is Agent Coulson. I'm here on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"And what does S.H.I.E.L.D. want with me, exactly?"

"Let's discuss that over lunch," Coulson offered, holding up his credit card. "I'm buying."

Two hamburgers, a milkshake, and a 16-oz. steak later, Coulson began to wish he'd taken the girl to an all-you-can-eat buffet. S.H.I.E.L.D. did not like its agents using too much of its funds. And she showed no sign of slowing down anytime soon.

"So," Ziva asked through a mouthful of French fries, "S.H.I.E.L.D. wants me to join their boy band?"

"I wouldn't call it a boy band. Agent Romanoff is female."

"Whatever. Do you even _know_ what I can do?"

"If you agreed to join, giving us a full brief on your abilities would be mandatory."

Coulson passed her a file containing a brief bio on each member of the team, as well as what her living spaces would be and the salary.

Ziva's eyebrows shot up. That was a lot of zeroes. And she'd be living at Stark Tower- no, Avengers Tower now. S.H.I.E.L.D. probably had a lot of resources- resources she might be able to use to find the answers she needed. Plus, she'd get to meet her f-. _No. _She told herself. _Quit thinking like that_. She looked back up at Coulson. "I'm in."

"Excellent. I have a car waiting outside to take us to the jet-"

"That won't be necessary," Ziva interrupted, waving a waitress over who was carrying coffee and drank the whole pot without stopping. "Put it on his tab," she told her, pointing to Coulson. "Which way is New York?" Ziva asked him.

"That way." Coulson pointed.

"I'll meet you there," she told him, and disappeared.

**Next chapter should be posted on Thursday. Review please! Polite constructive criticism is welcome.**


	3. SHIELD

**Here it is. Guest: thanks for the review. I'm glad you liked my first chapter. I hope you like the others. And I hope you guys who are following and/or favorited my story will continue enjoying.**

Ziva ran. And continued running, in the direction that Coulson had pointed. She ran faster and faster, letting out a whoop as she broke the sound barrier. No matter how many times she did it, there was no better adrenaline rush than running. She continued running, for what she estimated to be two and a half hours, before seeing skyscrapers. Slowing down to a subsonic speed, she stopped behind a building. If she simply stopped in the middle of a street, it would look like she'd appeared out of thin air. Ziva smiled as she held up Agent Coulson's credit card. It was time to do some shopping.

A clean set of clothes and a shower later, Ziva jogged over to Central Park and sat on a park bench. She figured S.H.I.E.L.D. had recognized her from the security footage in front of the gas station, and if they could access security footage in Arizona, they definitely could find her here in Central Park. In the meantime, she could admire the scenery.

Agent Coulson walked up to her about half an hour later, looking slightly annoyed. "Well, look who dropped in," Ziva smirked.

Agent Coulson said nothing, simply holding out his hand.

Ziva handed Coulson his credit card. "If it makes you feel any better, I spent it wisely."

"Shall we?" Agent Coulson asked, gesturing to his car.

It was a cherry colored old-style convertible. Ziva shrugged, deciding to use the car this time, especially since she didn't know where she was actually going.

"You know, most government agents have a black sedan. Even dark blue is acceptable. Doesn't S.H.I.E.L.D. have a vehicle code?"

Agent Coulson muttered under his breath, "One Stark is bad enough," as he started the car.

Ziva bit back a laugh. "What does S.H.I.E.L.D. stand for, anyway?"

"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

"Quite a mouthful."

"We're working on it," Coulson replied in a tone that suggested people said that a lot. He parked in front of a nondescript brownstone 15 minutes later.

Ziva raised an eyebrow. "This is S.H.I.E.L.D.? No offense, but I was expecting something a little more impressive. But then, an agency that lets its agents drive cherry-colored convertibles can't be all that awesome."

Ziva kept her surprise hidden behind a mask of boredom, but she wished she'd kept her mouth shut for once. The place was pretty cool, with agents hustling about everywhere, and a cloak-and-dagger air about the building. Then a tall black guy wearing an eye patch and dressed all in black-_seriously?_- approached them.

"So this is Ziva Savid," he said, circling her.

"So this is Captain Mace Windu, scourge of the High Seas," Ziva quipped, and grinned as she was rewarded with a one-eyed glare. Death stares didn't intimidate her- probably because she couldn't die.

"I'll want a full description of your abilities, height and weight, a DNA sample-" the man began.

"Uh-uh."

"Excuse me?" the man asked, like he wasn't used to being refused.

"Means no. I can say it in a different language, if you'll understand it better that way. Nein. Nyet. Non. לא. لا."

"I understand just fine, thanks. Why don't you want us to take a DNA sample?"

"I have my reasons," Ziva told him, meeting his gaze. "So how badly do you want me on this team, because either you let me in _without_ a sample, or I leave now and S.H.I.E.L.D. never sees me again. Your choice."

"Very well," the man relented, after holding her gaze for a few more seconds. "But you _will _do the rest of what I told you before I was interrupted."

Ziva faked a yawn. "Fine."

"What are your special abilities?" Coulson asked her.

Ziva snickered as she looked around the room. Two folding chairs on opposite sides of a table and mirrored glass. What was this, the NYPD? Coulson cleared his throat.

"Super speed, rapid healing, you know, all that normal stuff."

"And how did you acquire these powers?"

"I fell into a vat of toxic waste. I climbed out, and presto."

"Might I remind you that Director Fury expects you to answer these questions honestly-" Agent Coulson began.

"Yeah, fine. It just happened."

"And why did you run away from your aunt and uncle?"

Ziva froze. There was no chance that she'd tell them what had really happened, but she had to come up with a believable lie.

"I ran away to join a circus that had just come through the area. I ended up going to Sacramento, but the program actually said San Francisco. I didn't want to go back, so I just wandered wherever I was in the mood to go." The part of a circus coming through the area was true. She'd loved the performance. It had been her last night of a normal life.

Coulson had a feeling that there was more to the story than that, but he let it go. Then Director Fury entered the room. "You're free to go," he said. "Not you, Coulson," he added. "We need to discuss your use of S.H.I.E.L.D. funds."

After being weighed, measured by some laser scanner thingy, and getting to spar with some agents and use the weapons (absolutely the best part), Agent Coulson came to drive her over to Avengers Tower.

They took the elevator up to the 100th floor. Coulson strode quickly down a long impressive hallway, stopping at a large wooden door. Ziva took a deep breath and opened the door- to an arrow flying straight at her heart.

**Next chapter will be posted in a couple days, as usual.**


	4. Meet Your New Member

**And finally . . . Avengers POVs!**

Tony Stark's hysterical laughter rang throughout the floor. Bruce Banner rushed into the lab to see what was wrong, and saw Tony lying on the floor laughing uncontrollably, and some frozen security footage of what looked like S.H.I.E.L.D. "Tony, you know what Fury said he'd do to you if he caught you hacking into S.H.I.E.L.D. again."

"Yes, yes," Tony replied, waving off Bruce's warning. "But I saw this footage from a couple minutes ago, and you've just got to watch it."

Tony pressed the rewind button and hit play. _"So, this is Ziva Savid,"_ came Fury's unmistakable voice, as he circled an unknown girl.

"Tony, I don't see how this is funny-" Bruce began, but Tony shushed him.

"Trust me, it gets funnier."

_"So, this is Captain Mace Windu, scourge of the High Seas,"_ came the girl who they now to be Ziva's snarky reply.

Bruce stood there, openmouthed, at the idea that someone would be so brazen as to openly challenge Fury. Tony simply burst into laughter again.

_"I'll want a full description of your powers, height and weight, a DNA sample-"_ Fury began, but the girl cut him off.

_"Uh-uh."_

_"Excuse me?"_ Fury replied.

_"Means no. I can say it in a different language, if you'll understand it better that way. Nein. Nyet. Non. לא. لا."_ Tony completely lost it at this point, rolling on the floor with tears coming out of his eyes. "This is as far as I got," he managed to gasp out.

_"I understand just fine, thanks. Why don't you want us to take a DNA sample?"_

_"I have my reasons," the girl replied. "So how badly do you want me on this team, because either you let me in without a sample, or I leave now and S.H.I.E.L.D. never sees me again. Your choice."_

Tony looked back at Bruce, all mirth gone. "Did she just say team? As in _our _team?!"

In the common area of Avengers Tower, the rest of the team was celebrating their recent victory. Thor was eating pop tarts by the box, Natasha and Steve were arm wrestling, and Clint was shooting arrows into targets he'd set up throughout the room- the doors, walls, etc. He would've liked to set some up in the windows, but he knew that Stark would cheerfully throw him off the roof if he broke anything in his precious tower. They all turned to stare when Bruce ran down the stairs from the lab.

"Guys, we have a new-" Bruce began to say, when the door opened- just as Clint shot an arrow at it.

Bruce gasped, sure that the girl who'd opened the door was about to get shot through the heart, but faster than his eyes could follow, the girl reached up and caught the arrow, the tip less than an inch from her chest. Not appearing startled at all, the girl simply raised an eyebrow. Turning to face them, she asked, "Is this how you guys normally say hi to people?" and the Avengers got their first good look at their newest team member.

She was tall, with wavy, dark hair and slightly darker than tan skin. Pretty, too, Natasha decided. She was willing to bet the girl was of Middle Eastern descent, probably Jewish. She looked familiar, but Natasha couldn't figure out why.

Agent Coulson walked in behind her. "Everyone, this is your new teammate."

"Ziva," the girl introduced herself. "My name's Ziva."

"Bruce Banner," Bruce said, shaking her hand.

"Clint Barton."

"Natasha Romanoff."

"Steve Rogers."

Thor got up from his couch, wiping Pop-tart crumbs from his mouth before taking Ziva's hand and kissing it. "It is an honor to meet you, Lady Ziva," his voice boomed.

"Um, hi." Ziva took her hand and wiped it on her pants. Thor was slightly miffed, but forgot about being offended when she turned and eyed each of them. "So you're the dude with the lightning? Then you must be Eagle-eyed and the spider lady, which makes you the old ice dude, and you're Bruce Banner, AKA jolly green giant."

"Yes," Bruce Banner admitted. She seemed so casual about it, like Tony. "Most people are a little nervous around me."

"So you're the 'Second Street Savior,'" Tony Stark said, coming down the stairs with a tablet displaying the front page of a Phoenix newspaper.

Ziva froze. She studied his face intently; everyone had seen his face on magazines before, but it was different seeing him in person.

Tony smirked. "At the risk of sounding clichéd, 'Cat got your tongue?'"

_Get a grip_, Ziva scolded herself. Rolling her eyes, she retorted, "At the risk of sounding clichéd, Stark, 'Listen to the pot calling the kettle black.' Would you prefer me to recite your many 'news names' in alphabetical order, or by the amount of ridiculousness?"

Tony chuckled. "Touché. I like this kid. Can we keep her?"

"You don't have a choice, Stark," Agent Coulson told him. "Fury's in charge of who makes up the team."

"So he sends a kid? Is that even legal?" Steve protested.

"If you have a problem, take it up with the director," Agent Coulson told Steve.

Steve pressed his lips into a thin line, clearly unhappy. "I think I will."

"Try not to work out too hard when you get back, Capsicle. You're costing me a fortune in sand bags!" Tony called after him.

"Director Fury, Captain Rogers is here to see you."

"Tell him I'm busy," Nick Fury told the intercom on his desk.

"I'm afraid he's not taking no for an answer."

Fury raised an eyebrow at Rogers when he walked in. "What can I do for you, Captain?"

"You know exactly why I'm here," Rogers replied icily. "You put a kid on the team, and she's gonna get killed."

"This kid isn't capable of dying. Do you know how useful an asset who has that ability could be?"

"_Useful_?" Rogers spluttered. "She's a person, not-"

Fury continued talking. "The Hulk- he's invincible. But he doesn't exactly have a high I.Q. or follow orders very well. You just point him in the right direction and stay out of the way. We tried to recruit the Wolverine, but he wasn't interested. And there's another side of the coin. Normally, powerful people who could do a lot of damage and aren't interested in cooperating with S.H.I.E.L.D.- well, we have our ways of dealing with them. But none of our methods would have worked on Miss Savid. Do you have any idea how much damage a mutant who can't die and has unnatural speed could do when working for the wrong people? I understand you don't like the idea of a minor being on the team, but believe me, this is the lesser of two evils."

"That doesn't change the fact that they're both evil," Rogers told him. "If we're on a mission, and she dies, it's going to be on your head."

With that, he stalked off.

"Sooo . . ." Bruce trailed off in a failed attempt to break the awkward silence after Steve and Coulson left.

"You got anything to eat around here?" asked Ziva. She studied the roomful of blank faces. "What? I just ran like two and a half thousand miles. I'm _hungry_."

"Hold on, did you just say _ran_?" asked Tony.

"Yes, _ran_. I assume you understand what ran means?"

"Of course I understand what ran means. I'm a genius. What I don't understand is how you look fresh as a daisy after running that far."

"Why do you think Fury wanted me on the team? I can run at high speeds, supersonic speeds if I run long enough. I also heal fast, so I can't die, like, ever. Which means I can mouth off to Fury as much as I want," she said, grinning.

Natasha studied her for a moment, then seemed to make a decision. "You know how to use this?" she asked, holding up a pistol.

"Never saw a need, since I can outrun bullets."

"Right," Natasha said, rising from the couch. "C'mon, kid."

"Where?" Ziva asked, folding her arms.

"To the gym. You'll need more than your fists if you're going to fight with the rest of us."

Ziva shrugged. "Which way is the gym?"

"It's on the sixtieth floor, second door on the-"

Ziva disappeared before she could complete her statement.

Tony raised both eyebrows. That was pretty impressive. Now if he could perform a couple experiments, maybe get a DNA sample . . .

The gym was awesome. There were several boxing rings, one room full of guns, and another with every kind of knife and sword imaginable. Natasha tossed Ziva a knife, which she caught easily. She then pointed to a row of three combat dummies. "I want you to stab all three of those, and then come back here. Natasha raised an eyebrow when Ziva didn't move. "Did you not hear what I said?"

Ziva grinned. "I heard you just fine. Do you have vision problems?"

Natasha turned to look at the dummies. They were all stabbed on the left side of the chest. Realizing her mouth was hanging open, the super spy quickly shut it. She was beginning to understand why Fury wanted this kid on the team. Natasha tossed Ziva a pair of short swords.

"Ok, now I want you to go to every dummy in this room, and do what you just did."

A breeze ruffled Natasha's hair as Ziva disappeared. Three seconds later, she stood in front of Natasha again. "Now put those back and go into the ring." Natasha put on a pair of boxing gloves. As soon as Ziva jumped into the ring, Natasha began throwing kicks and punches at her. Ziva ducked, dodged, or blocked every single one.

"Okay, that's enough." Natasha lowered her guard. "Where'd you learn to fight like that?"

"Remember how I said I could outrun bullets?"

She nodded.

Ziva continued, "Compared to a bullet, dodging your punches is like dodging someone who's punching underwater."

Natasha nodded again.

"That's enough for today. You could probably keep those swords, though. Nobody uses them."

"Cool." Ziva disappeared again. Natasha sighed, wiping sweat from her face. Yes, she definitely understood why Fury wanted her on the team.

Pepper Potts needed Tony to sign some papers. She knew it wouldn't be easy, but she had to try. Pepper opened the door to see Tony, Clint and Natasha gathered around a girl in the middle of the room. The girl was juggling various items, including a lamp, a book, and what looked suspiciously like a bowling ball.

"Um, Tony, I need you to sign-"

Tony shushed her. "No signing until I've won my bet."

The girl looked over at her. "And this is?"

"Pepper Potts," she introduced herself, holding out a hand.

"Ziva," the girl replied, returning the handshake, and then grunting in pain when the bowling ball landed on her foot.

"Oh, my, I am so sorry," gasped Pepper. "I can get a first aid kit, oh, we might need to go to the doctor's office."

"It's okay," Ziva told her. Pepper gasped again as the girl's foot, which she had thought was broken, straightened out. All the blood on her foot disappeared, and the crushed toenails grew back together.

"Pepper, this is the newest team member," Tony introduced her. "And I must say that is freaky," he told Ziva.

Ziva glared at him. "Shut up, Stark."

Tony grinned at her before turning to Clint and Natasha. "Pay up."

The two assassins glared at him before fishing out their wallets and slapping money on the table. They then stalked off. A gust of wind ruffled Pepper's hair as Ziva vanished.

"Well, it seems like she's fitting in nicely," said Pepper.

Tony nodded enthusiastically. Pepper knew that look.

"Tony . . ." she warned.

"Oh, don't worry," he told her. "I'll be a perfect host."

Pepper gave him a look.

"Scout's honor."

Pepper let out an exasperated sigh. Tony had been kicked out of the Boy Scouts.

**Got the "kicked out of the boys scouts" idea from the episode "Field Trip" of Hawaii Five-0 (and no, I don't own that either). **


	5. Chapter 5

5. Of Enchanted Hammers and Unfair Drinking Contests

**Annoying chapter character limit.**

Ziva woke up, stretched, and yawned. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been so comfortable. She considered getting up, but knew she'd have to face Tony Stark- or as she privately called him, "Bane of My Existence." _I wonder what Mom would think if she knew where I was right now._ Ziva shook her head briskly, trying to rid herself of the images seared into her brain, of bullets and blood. And the guilt. Always, the guilt. She got out of bed, took a quick shower, and slipped on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt before heading downstairs for breakfast.

She mentally prepared herself for Thor's thunderous greeting of "Good morning, Lady Ziva!" During the week she'd been here, she'd noticed that he was always up the earliest, and that he always shouted out a greeting to everyone who came down. He seemed the most accepting of her presence. Ziva figured he started fighting at an early age in Asgard. Natasha seemed to enjoy training her in the gym, and she had to admit she enjoyed it too. Clint didn't mind her, and Bruce Banner found her interesting scientifically but was nice enough not to overstep. Steve was a gentleman. Tony was Tony. Meaning he tormented her 24/7. He was always poking her with sharp objects when she wasn't looking, and got bolder and bolder when she wasn't permanently harmed. After he shot her with his repulsor, Ziva had threatened to throw him off the roof of his own tower without his suit. That had done the trick, but he still found ways to annoy her, and she responded in kind. She found his face turned a particularly bright shade of red when she insulted JARVIS, or his suit. But she was determined to enjoy her day.

"Thor, what did I say about calling me 'Lady,'" she scolded, pulling two boxes of toaster waffles out of the freezer and putting them in the microwave, then starting a pot of coffee.

"You said that it was an unnecessary formality because of your age," Thor replied.

"No, I did not quote Shakespeare," she told him, shaking her head. "I said 'I'm too young for any fancy names, whether it's miss or lady. Just keep me on a first-name basis.'"

"Very well . . . Ziva," Thor tried.

"Much better. See how easy that was?" Ziva asked as she retrieved her waffles and poured syrup on them, then poured half a bottle of creamer into the pot of coffee and drank it.

"Look who's up early," came Tony's voice from behind them. "Did you get your beauty sleep, hedgehog?" He'd started calling her that after he found out she was capable of breaking the sound barrier.

Ziva raised an eyebrow. "Let's hope you got yours, Tin Man. You need it more than I do."

"My many exes would disagree. And I told you to stop calling me that."

"I told you to stop calling me hedgehog."

"Friends," Thor bellowed, putting a hand on each of their shoulders, "morning is too early for quarrelling! Let us eat, drink, and be merry!"

Ziva eyed Tony. "What do you say, Tony? Truce?"

"Fine," Tony agreed. "But only until breakfast is over. Then I will continue dominating."

"You need to fix your arc reactor. It's messing with your brain," Ziva retorted, and returned to eating her waffles.

"I think you've met your match, Stark," Clint told him as he and Natasha came into the room.

"I have not," Tony huffed. "Just because Ziva is a smart-aleck does not mean she is as good as me."

"Is that so?" Natasha asked.

"Naturally. I come from a long line of smart-alecks."

Ziva suddenly began coughing. Thor thumped her on the back, sending Ziva's head into the counter. "Ouch," she groaned as she sat up, a cut above her right eyebrow closing before their eyes.

"My apologies, Lady Ziva," Thor apologized

Ziva growled, "What did I tell you about that?" at the same time Tony said, "I still find that freaky."

"You have a circle of light implanted in your chest with more power than an electrical plant, and _I'm_ the freaky one?" Ziva asked dryly.

"I think we're all freaks, in our own way. None more so than me," came a new voice.

"Morning, Bruce," they chorused.

Steve came down behind him, nodding to the team.

"He isn't himself until he thaws out over his morning cup o' Joe," Tony told her.

"'_Cup o' Joe'_? Who says that anymore?" asked Ziva.

"Capsicle does. It's amazing how much the American language has changed over seventy years."

After everyone had finished eating, Thor and Steve headed down to the gym. Tony and Bruce discussed a science project, Natasha flopped down on the couch and started reading Sun Tzu's _The Art of War_, and Clint sharpened his arrows.

"Hey hedgehog," Tony called to Ziva. She ignored him, focusing on getting through the Rainbow Road racetrack. "Kid," he tried again. "Ziva," he finally said.

"Yes?" Ziva replied without looking up.

"Gimme that hammer," he told her, pointing to Thor's hammer, which he had left on the couch.

"Get your own hammer, Stark," Ziva said, her eyes never leaving the game.

"C'mon, kid," Tony pleaded. "Promise you can hit me in the face with it when you pick it up?"

Ziva raised an eyebrow. "It's a deal." She should have known better than to say that.

"Tony, I really don't think we should do this," Bruce objected.

Ziva walked over to the couch and tried to lift the hammer. It wouldn't budge. She tried again. The darn thing still wouldn't move. After another 30 seconds of tugging, she noticed that Tony and Clint were hiding grins. Grateful that she didn't blush, she let go of the hammer and folded her arms.

"Ha ha, guys. Joke's over. Why can't I lift the hammer?"

"Mjolnir can only be lifted by one who is worthy," Thor's deep voice came from the doorway.

"Obviously, you're not," Tony added.

"Yeah? Let's see you lift Mew-mew, then," Ziva challenged.

"Uh-uh. Billionaire geniuses and enchanted hammers do not mix."

"Of course." Despite her casual manner, Ziva was angry. The event had most definitely been recorded, and she needed to plot her revenge. As her eyes fell on Tony's liquor cabinet, she got an idea. Zipping to her room, she came back with a pair of leather gloves. Returning to the kitchen, she slapped them down in front of Tony.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Throwing down the gauntlet," she told him. "There aren't any suits of armor around here, so I had to improvise. I hereby challenge you to a drinking game. Last one sober wins."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," said Steve, who had arrived during her challenge. "You're underage."

"I won't tell if you won't, Stark," she told Tony, ignoring Steve. "What do you say? Scared you might get beaten by a kid?"

"Absolutely not. I accept, but it's too early to drink right now. After supper."

A smile appeared on Ziva's face: the smile of a cat that has just eaten a fat, juicy canary. "It's a deal."

Later that evening after supper, the other Avengers, minus Steve, gathered around the bar counter. Tony and Ziva would take turns deciding what their rounds would be, with Ziva going first. Clint agreed to be the bartender and referee. "What do you want, kid?" Clint asked Ziva.

"Gimme a boiler-maker. And quit calling me kid," she replied.

"You got it." Clint replied, ignoring her second sentence. He took two mugs of beer and dumped a shot of whiskey in each.

"Bottoms up," Tony said. They took their mugs and drank them without stopping, Ziva managing to finish it despite the awful taste. Why adults liked to drink alcohol, she'd never understand. She waited after drinking it to see if her head got fuzzy. There was no trace. Her guess had been right; she was definitely going to win.

They went on for about an hour, Tony getting more and more drunk as time went on. Just when Clint had set two glasses of scotch in front of them, Tony's eyes rolled up, and he fell backwards onto the floor. Clint shrugged and picked up Tony's shot. He and Ziva clinked glasses and drank.

"Game over," said Ziva.

The next morning, Tony came down last, holding an ice pack to the back of his head and looking like he'd been in a clothes dryer.

"Morning, Tony," Ziva greeted him. "Sleep well?"

Tony muttered a swear word under his breath as he went to get some coffee, which made Ziva grin even wider.

They'd sat there for a few minutes when Agent Coulson came in.

"Morning, everyone," he said. Tony simply nodded at him. "What, no witty remark, Stark? What happened to you, anyway?"

"Oh, just a team bonding exercise," Ziva told him, her face the picture of innocence.

"Uh-huh." Agent Coulson knew a hangover when he saw one. "Mr. Stark, did Ziva happen to tell you that her metabolism is faster than Captain Rogers', and she is therefore unable to become intoxicated?"

Tony's glare was priceless. "No. She. Did. Not," he ground out.

Ziva spread her hands in a "who, me?" gesture. "I figured you knew already. You are a genius, after all."

As much as he enjoyed seeing Stark getting a taste of his own medicine, Agent Coulson decided it was time to end the witty repartee. "Director Fury wants to see all of you. Immediately."

The Avengers filed into the meeting room, where Nick Fury stood. "Avengers, welcome back," he greeted them.

"It's good to be back, Master Windu," Ziva replied. Tony snorted in a failed attempt to control his laughter as Fury glared at her. He had enough trouble with Stark without another team member continually making wisecracks. "I called you all in here, but I specifically needed Thor's expertise," he began.

"Me?" asked Thor, surprised.

"Yes, you," Fury told him. Behind him, the giant screen lit up. "This is what I wanted you to see." Pictures of mysterious holes appeared; _portal_ was the best word Ziva could think of to describe them. Looking around, she saw that all the other Avengers wore shocked expressions. Even Natasha looked surprised. "That's the portal Loki used to send the Chitauri to Manhattan," she said.

"These portals are only the first part. All sorts of items have been coming through them. At first it was small things; but now it's gotten bigger." The screen changed again to show dozens of pictures of everything from silverware to what Ziva could best describe as dinosaurs with antlers. The most disturbing thing to Tony wasn't the portals themselves, but the fact that they seemed to be all over the world. Thor cleared his throat.

"I am unfamiliar with this method of magic, but I shall return to Asgard and attempt to locate someone who is."

Just as Fury was about to conclude the meeting, they heard the sound of some unearthly roar, breaking glass, and screams. Ziva said what was on everyone's mind: "What the heck is that?"

"Bilgesnipe," said Thor.

Just before Ziva left for the tower to grab her swords, Fury tossed her a cardboard box. "What's in this?" she asked.

"Your suit," he replied. "Now suit up."

**And next chapter Ziva finally goes into action!**


	6. Bilgesnipe

Ziva was the first to arrive back at the tower, naturally. She quickly ran up to her room and opened the box. The first thing she took out was a black jumpsuit. It was covered with strips of Kevlar that went all the way around the suit, except for plates at the shoulders, knees, and elbows. Ziva had to admit it was pretty dang cool; she just hoped it wasn't made of Spandex. Next was a pair of black combat boots, with steel toes. She grinned. _Nice_. The last thing was a pair of sheaths, complete with straps and everything, which looked like the exact size of the swords she'd been practicing with. Ziva mentally face palmed herself. Of course, Natasha had been updating S.H.I.E.L.D. about her weapons skills. She resolved to be more careful in the future; she wouldn't want them to discover all of her secrets. Ziva put on the jumpsuit, grimacing as she zipped it up in the back. Contortionism was not one of her superpowers. The suit was not Spandex, thank goodness. After strapping the sheaths so they lay diagonally across her back and slipping on her boots, she went down to the gym. As she came into the gym, she saw Clint standing there, checking on his bow and arrows, and the opportunity was too good to miss. Ziva tapped him on the shoulder, laughing as she ducked under the reflexive punch.

"Geez, kid," he sputtered. "You want me to get a heart attack before we even leave the building?"

"Hey, I'm just lightening the atmosphere," she replied as she slid her swords into their sheaths. "You don't want to fight aliens on an upset stomach. I'm sure Tony would agree."

Clint scowled at her before returning to his weaponry.

Ziva was the first to arrive at the location. All she could do was stare, openmouthed. There appeared to be about 50 bilgesnipe, which were about the size of elephants. The antlers made them look like triceratops wearing reindeer horns for a Christmas party. Ziva continued staring until Stark's voice came into her earpiece.

"Yo, kid, you got a death stare you can use on these guys that S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't know about or something?" he asked as he hovered in the air.

"I'll use it on you if you call me kid again," Ziva snapped, coming out of her stupor.

"Save it," came Steve's stern voice. "We need to focus."

The jet landed on the street, and Steve, Clint, Natasha, and Bruce came out. Thor landed in front of them, cracking the pavement.

Tony landed next to her. His facemask opened, no doubt so he could make a snarky comment, when all the color drained from his face. Ziva turned to where he was staring, to see a bunch of people dressed in business suits running out of a building that several bilgesnipe were smashing to pieces. One of them was Pepper Potts.

Pepper couldn't believe what was happening. She'd been having a perfectly normal investment meeting when the enormous alien creatures had started smashing up the street. She'd seen the Chitauri on TV during Loki's invasion, but she now she was up close and personal with the monsters. However, this was all in the back of her mind. Pepper's main concern was not getting eaten. One of the bilgesnipe turned towards Pepper. Pepper screamed as it opened its mouth to devour her- and suddenly she wasn't there anymore. Pepper looked down to see that her heels were smoking. She was now fifty yards away, and Ziva's hands were under her arms.

Tony's heart was in his throat. He watched as Pepper ran out of the building. Tony lifted off the ground as he saw her get cornered by one of the monsters, but he knew he couldn't reach her in time. One of the bilgesnipe snapped at her- and suddenly Pepper was next to him, screaming, with Ziva's hands under her arms.

"Pepper! Pepper, are you OK?" Tony wrapped her in his arms. Pepper began to sob; the shock of almost getting killed was more than she could handle at the moment.

"I'm okay," she managed to gasp through her sobs. "How-"

"I didn't nickname the kid hedgehog for nothing," he told her.

After saving Pepper, Ziva ran back to where the bilgesnipe were tearing up the building. She quickly ducked as one of them snapped at her. Ziva slashed its neck, to no effect. Frustrated, she yelled into her earpiece, "Guys! Man-eating reindeer/dinosaur monsters! Get your butts into action!"

Tony jumped as Ziva yelled into his helmet. He turned towards Pepper. "Sorry- gotta fly." Tony directed a police officer to take her out of the area.

"What about those people?" the police officer asked, pointing back to where Pepper had been.

Tony slid his facemask down and zoomed in. He saw a black and grey blur busy decimating the bilgesnipe. Turning back to the police officer, he said, "It's under control," before taking off.

Ziva dropped to the ground as the bilgesnipe tried to snap at her. Then she got an idea. Backing up a bit, she leaped onto its neck, turning in midair as she did so. She then began chopping at the bilgesnipe's neck, so fast that to a normal person it would be one gray and black blur. After three seconds, the bilgesnipe was dead. Ziva leaped onto a second monster, repeating the process. She slid off its tail onto the ground and looked around. Thor was electrocuting bilgesnipe about a block away. Tony was blasting away with his repulsors, and even managed to fire a missile inside a bilgesnipe's mouth, taking out three in the resulting blast. Clint was on a rooftop targeting bilgesnipe with explosive arrows, somehow hitting them in the eye each time. Steve and Natasha were helping people get out of the kill zone, and the Hulk was, well, smashing. All the bilgesnipe in the area she was in were dead, so she raced over to help. Together, they finished off the remaining monsters in about twenty minutes.

Thor stretched out his hand, and his hammer flew into it. "I must return to Asgard and find out from whence these foul beasts came," he told them, his face grim. Thor raised his hammer. Dark clouds gathered overhead. Lightning flashed, and in an instant Thor was gone.


	7. Who's the Reindeer?

**Thanks for the review, Liara xox. Hope you enjoy!**

Everyone (sans Thor) went back to the tower to cool off after the battle. Bruce read a novel, Natasha and Clint worked out in the gym, Tony fiddled with something in his lab, and Ziva played video games. At about six o'clock that evening, Thor walked in. Ziva was in the living room playing Mario Kart and eating her third box of Cheez-its, so she was the first to see him.

"Guys, M.C. Hammer's back," she called.

Thor simply walked in and took a seat on the La-Z-Boy. Ziva raised an eyebrow on this. Usually, she could count on him saying _I do not understand this reference_, or _what is the meaning of this word_? Something must've really shaken him up. Gradually, the other Avengers filed in and took their seats. It was then that Thor finally spoke.

"Loki has escaped from Asgard. The Tesseract is gone also."

It took Ziva a moment to remember who Loki was and what the word Tesseract meant- psychotic god and all-powerful glow cube. The others, however, immediately began talking all at once.

"Wait, how did he escape?"

"Doesn't Asgard have any security?"

"I'm definitely putting an arrow in his eye now."

"Enough," snapped Steve. "We need to focus. Thor, do you have any idea how he got out?"

Thor shook his head. "I do not have a clue, as you Midgardians say."

"OK, well, we need to tell Director Fury."

Fury didn't take it well. He ordered Bruce and Tony to start running the algorithm they'd used to track the Tesseract, but everyone else had to sit around and wait until Loki had been sighted.

Later that day, Ziva came into the living room to see Steve, with Pepper behind him, pointing a gun at some guy. The mystery man was about seven feet tall, with slicked-back black hair and ice blue eyes. He wore a long green cape, golden armor, and a helmet with two horns coming out of the front.

"Who's the reindeer?" asked Ziva.

"I am Loki of Asgard," said the man, "And I am burdened with glorious purpose."

"Is your 'glorious purpose' getting more hair gel? 'Cause you don't need a dramatic standoff to do it," Ziva quipped. So this was the psycho who tried to invade Earth, and nearly succeeded.

Loki looked puzzled for a moment, then turned his attention to Steve. "Stand aside, and you will live."

"Won't happen," Steve replied, his voice steely.

Loki shrugged. He'd had no intention of letting the Captain live, but there was no harm in trickery. "Very well." He re-materialized behind the soldier, raised his staff- and was suddenly tackled to the ground. Loki looked up to see that it was some young female human who had bested him.

"I'd stay down if I were you," the girl told him. Loki sneered at her before throwing her off him and into the wall, cracking it.

He turned back toward the Captain and Potts, and said, "Now, where were we?" He took a step toward them- and was punched in the face. Loki's jaw nearly cracked. Few other than Thor could deliver a punch with that much power. Loki raised his head, expecting to see his adopted brother standing in front of him. Amazingly, the same girl who'd tackled him just moments ago stood in front of him, fists up. The girl smirked at him.

"Are you really Thor's brother? 'Cause he fights a lot better than you."

Claiming that Loki was related to Thor and insulting his prowess was a certain method of angering him. He picked up his scepter. "When I have conquered this realm, you- will die- slowly," he promised her.

"I might be intimidated, except I can't really die," Ziva told him. She was grateful for her healing abilities just then. Being thrown into a wall wasn't good for you, and that punch had done a number on her knuckles. Ziva never realized gods had such hard heads.

Loki grasped his glow stick and stabbed at her, but Ziva wasn't there anymore. She tapped him on the shoulder, and nailed him with a roundhouse kick to the jaw when he turned around. It went on like that for several minutes. Loki made ineffectual attacks which Ziva easily dodged.

Loki snarled when he saw Thor, The Man of Iron, and the Monster run into the room.

"What the . . ." began Bruce.

"Wow, she is kicking Loki's butt," said Tony.

"Lay down your staff, brother," Thor commanded.

Loki sneered at him before disappearing in a column of blue light. When the light had dissipated, Ziva was gone as well.

Ziva appreciated Tony's admiration, but she was not about to let Loki get away when she saw him begin to teleport. She grabbed his arm, and suddenly was standing on rock. Ziva looked around. She saw a pedestal with a glowing blue cube, and a lady with long blonde hair and bright green eyes. The lady was gorgeous; _knockout _was a better word. The area they were standing on was totally barren- there wasn't a plant in sight. The best comparison Ziva could think of was a volcano that had just erupted.

"You brought along a passenger," the blonde lady said, with a British accent. "Who are you? Speak, or die."

Ziva snorted. "My name's Ziva, and I'd like to see you try."

The woman smiled. "Very well."

The woman's eyes glowed green, and Ziva was hovering in midair, suspended in a column of blue light.

Ziva struggled, but couldn't move. She leveled the woman with a glare. "Seriously? Not cool."

Her captor looked puzzled. She turned to Loki. "Does this human not speak English? For it is quite cool on this realm."

"I believe that is an expression humans use when they are not happy."

The woman's face cleared. "Ah. Now, how did you get here?" she asked Ziva.

"You're a smart lady. I'm sure you can figure it out."

The lady's eyes narrowed and a jolt of pain coursed through Ziva's body. Ziva clenched her teeth. Dang, that hurt. She was starting to realize she might be a bit outmatched, but was determined not to show it. Ziva forced out a scornful laugh.

"Is that the best you've got?"

"No," the woman said. "It isn't." Without further ado, she took a long knife that glowed a sickly green, and plunged it into Ziva's chest, up underneath her ribcage. The blue light disappeared, and Ziva fell to the ground. But the pain, instead of fading at the wound healed, got worse. _What's happening_, she managed to think. She saw that Loki and the woman were talking like they had nothing more to worry about from her. Well, she would have to prove them wrong. Ziva looked up and saw a circle of blue light, about the size of a door. The portal hadn't dissipated yet. She might be able to get back to Earth through it, if the two didn't notice. Ziva slowly began to drag herself over. Gosh, it had been ages since she'd had to go at normal speed, but she managed to throw herself in. She landed face down on the floor at Stark Towers. _Well, at least I had a soft landing_, Ziva sarcastically consoled herself, but she didn't have the strength to verbalize her complaint. She felt herself being turned over, and several faces looking down at her worriedly.

"What happened" . . . "Can you hear me, kid?" . . . "Something is amiss!"

_Brilliant deduction, Watson_, Ziva tried to say, but couldn't. She closed her eyes as everything became silent and dark.

**Hope everyone enjoyed. Have a Merry Christmas!**


	8. What to do

**Hi guys! Sorry this next chapter is so late.**

**Liara XOX: You will now find out. I'm glad you like my character.**

**The cat with blue eyes: I do understand. This story is a little centered on Ziva, because the main purpose is to introduce my character, but my sequel is going to have more about the other Avengers.**

**Katie 131925: Welcome, and I'm glad you like my story.**

"Hey! Don't do that! Think about ice cream, and coffee, and not being able to play Mario Kart if you die!" Tony shouted as Ziva's eyes closed.

"Tony! She's still breathing. Now stop shaking her or you'll make it worse!" Bruce yelled at him.

"Call 911. Steve, take Pepper upstairs. Tony, find me some towels. I need to stop the bleeding." Bruce began issuing rapid-fire orders. He was in what Tony called "the doc zone." So Tony did as he was told, for once.

Ziva was floating. On a cloud. Normally, she'd be a little more cynical, but everything was so peaceful and numb, she didn't question it. However, the floating sensation soon began to wear off, and as her memory of what had transpired returned, so did the pain. Ziva clenched her teeth to keep from crying out. She opened her eyes to see Tony staring down at her.

Ziva tried to speak, but it sounded weird and muffled. Realizing she was wearing an oxygen mask, she pulled it off.

"You know staring at me like that is incredibly creepy, right?" she repeated raspily.

"Glad to see you, too," Tony huffed. He held up a finger to forestall Ziva's question. "You're in a S.H.I.E.L.D. medical facility. Wouldn't really be a good idea to have you in a public hospital, since people took pictures of you during the Battle of the Bilgesnipe."

Ziva rolled her eyes. _Battle of the Bilgesnipe? Seriously?_ "So when do I-," she started to ask, before hacking up a lung (okay, not really, but it sure as heck felt like it).

"Okay, mask goes back on," Tony scolded as he adjusted it. "And you should be discharged in a couple days, if you behave. Now go back to sleep before the doc comes and reads me the riot act."

Ziva narrowed her eyes at him. This was the second time he'd figured out what she was going to say. It was downright creepy, but she was too tired to argue. Right before she fell asleep, she heard Tony say,

"And you should tell Bruce thanks. He saved your life."

Two days later, Ziva walked back into the tower, deftly sidestepping Thor as he offered her his arm. Punctured lung or not, she didn't need any help collapsing on the couch.

Everyone gathered around her. "Can you walk us through what happened?" Bruce asked her.

So Ziva summarized everything, from following Loki to getting stabbed.

"This sounds like the work of Amora. We must be wary," Thor said.

"What on earth were you thinking? Did you even have a plan when you followed Loki?" Steve asked her.

Tired and powerless as Ziva was, she hadn't lost her sarcasm- plus she didn't like to admit when she was wrong. "Of course I had a plan. My plan was to get stabbed with a magic blade, lose my mutation, get kicked off the Avengers and out of your grandpa-style hair onto the streets, and die within a week. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some sleep to catch up on- while I still have a bed."

With that, Ziva got up from the couch and walked over to the door.

An awkward silence descended upon the remaining Avengers.

"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting that," Tony said.

"Who's Amora?" Clint asked, bringing them all back to the subject.

"Amora is a malevolent Asgardian enchantress. If she and my brother are conspiring together, nothing good will come of it," Thor told him.

Ziva slammed the door and threw herself down on the bed. The door-slamming was a little childish, she admitted, but she felt it was justified. Ziva closed her eyes against a sudden rush of tears. _Oh, and what did you think?_ She asked herself. _You'd just work with these guys for the rest of your life? One big happy __family__? _Ziva let out a bitter chuckle. There were two words that summed up why she didn't want anyone to have her DNA: paternity test. She hadn't been sure if Tony was really her father or not. Her grandmother, may she rest in peace, had had Alzheimer's when she told Ziva. But she was now pretty sure Grandma wasn't demented at the time. The main thing they had in common was their personalities: while Ziva naturally had some physical similarities to him, she mostly got her looks from her mother. _I wonder if he even remembers my mom. Probably not._

Sighing, Ziva switched on the TV. She might as well enjoy living in the tower while she still could.

The next day was horrible. Everyone kept watching her to make sure she didn't overexert herself. Thor actually flipped her over his shoulder and carried her to the couch when she tried to go outside.

"Put me down, Thor," Ziva protested. "Oh, you think this is funny, Tony? Your time will come. Put me down _now_, or so help me . . ."

Thor dropped her on the couch, but not too hard. He had a brief recollection of a time he was injured in battle, and how stubborn he was while his parents tried to get him to stay in bed. Thor wondered how his parents had managed to raise him at all; he had been quite a difficult child. He silently swore that Loki and Amora- the woman Ziva described- would pay for what they had done to their newest team member.

Ziva scowled up at Thor. He placed a meaty hand on each shoulder and gazing sternly into her eyes, told her, "You will rest, and you will obey Banner's instructions."

"Or what?" she challenged.

"Or I'll . . ." Thor was saved from having to come up with a suitable threat when Pepper announced, "Lunch is here!"

_I need to get out of here_, Ziva decided. "I'm not really hungry, guys. I think I'll go lie down."

"Fine," Bruce told her. "Just don't-"

"I know, I know, I know. Don't leave the tower."

Bruce shook his head as she left. That kid was the most stubborn person he'd ever met- except maybe for Tony Stark. But few, if any, were as obstinate as the billionaire genius. Bruce quickly left his train of thought when the shawarma arrived.

Meanwhile, Ziva was moving on with her plan. _Step one: come up with a reasonable excuse. Check. Step two: get out! _She had an idea of how to accomplish that. First, she stopped by Tony's lab to grab a screwdriver. The place was obviously under surveillance, but Tony probably wasn't going to review security footage during lunch. Then it was up to her bedroom, like she'd told them. She'd explored the entire tower when she'd first arrived, even managing to sneak a look at some blueprints, and now had an exit strategy. But then she stopped. They'd probably notice she was gone before she felt like coming back. So Ziva grabbed a pen and paper, writing a brief note and sticking it on her dresser before unscrewing the ventilation panel.

It took Ziva close to an hour to climb down to the ground floor. Her chest ached and she had dust bunnies in her hair, but it was worth it. She took a deep breath of fresh air and walked down the street, relishing her freedom.

"Ziva?" Natasha called, knocking on the door. "Ziva, are you in there?"

They'd sat down for supper when they saw that Ziva wasn't with them. Tony had checked the cameras everywhere, and there was no sign of her. The only logical explanation was that she was in her bedroom, where there was no surveillance. The rest of the team volunteered Natasha to check on her.

Natasha tried the door handle, but it was locked. Sighing, she proceeded to kick the door down. There was a ventilation panel and a screwdriver lying by a wall, but no sign of Ziva. Then Natasha caught sight of a piece of paper on the dresser.

" I'm not running away. I'll be back by 3, I just need some air. And I promise when I get back Gramps can scold me as much as he wants."

"Dang it, can't that kid follow orders just once?" Tony whined as soon as Natasha finished reading the note aloud.

Everyone turned and stared at him. "Okay, okay, bad role model. I get it," he surrendered, raising his hands.

"Guys, Ziva said she'd be back by three o'clock. It's 5:30," Natasha pointed out.

Everyone was silent until Steve broke in. "Well, we have to find her. Ziva saved my life, and Pepper's too."

"JARVIS, sweep all the cameras in the city, see if there's any sign her," Tony ordered his AI."

"I'll begin immediately, sir."

A couple of minutes later, while Steve was still assigning people places to look, JARVIS' voice came over the speakers. "Sir, I've sent the latest footage to your phone."

Everyone crowded around Tony to watch the tape. "Well, this is certainly a game-changer," said Tony when it was finished.

**So that's the big reveal! Surprised? Saw it coming? Read my hints? Feel free to share your thoughts!**


	9. Hostage

Ziva's head snapped to the side as she got punched in the face. She gasped in pain; that punch felt like it had broken her nose. But never let it be said that Ziva didn't have a comeback. Giving Loki a bloody smile, she quipped, "Oh yes, beating up a defenseless little girl. Your brother must be so proud of you."

Amora stepped in before Loki could hit her again. "If we wish to draw out the Avengers, we cannot kill our only hostage. It is fortunate that we were able to locate her, since you failed to apprehend Miss Potts."

_It's about time_. Ziva was getting a little tired of Loki using her as a punching bag. Getting hit while in a fight was one thing, but she hated being helpless. Plus, once she got hurt, she stayed that way. Ziva really wished she still had her powers. She'd already tried to escape once- using a bobby pin to pick the lock on the chain on her ankle connected to the stake in the ground. However, she'd had no way of knowing where to go- she'd been here once before when she'd followed Loki, but hadn't stuck around to explore. It hadn't taken long for them to find her. Ziva had struggled, managing to kick Loki where it hurts- hence his workout session. Plus, she thought he was still pissed that she'd beaten him when they were fighting in Avengers Tower. In any case, the only way she figured she'd be leaving was in a box. Ziva had no idea when the Avengers would come, or if they'd come at all.

_Nah, they'll come. They might not like me that much, but they wouldn't leave me here. Would they?_

They probably didn't know she was here anyway, though.

oo0oo

"This is bad," Steve groaned.

"No kidding? Are you sure?" Clint sarcastically replied.

"So not only has Loki escaped from Asgard, and is in cahoots with an enchantress, but they're holding Ziva hostage," stated Bruce.

"An adequate summary," Thor confirmed.

"Are you boys finished going over what we already know? 'Cause if we want to rescue Ziva _alive_, we should get moving," said Natasha icily.

"So how are we going to do it?" asked Tony.

Nobody said anything for about five minutes.

"Thor, could you-"Steve began.

"No, I could not. The Allfather had to summon a large amount of dark energy so I could return to Asgard, and I doubt he has the strength to transport all six of us."

Just as Thor finished explaining why he could not teleport them all, a blue circle of light appeared on the wall.

"This is definitely a trap" said Tony.

"Yep," Clint replied.

"And we don't have a choice."

"Nope. This is our only chance."

"That's what I thought." Tony turned on his wristbands and held out his arms. In a few seconds, his suit was attached. He then flew through the portal. Tony liked the kid; she had spunk. He just hoped they weren't too late.

Thor came next, and Bruce walked in after him. Clint, Natasha, and Steve followed shortly after, once they had suited up.

The Avengers came out onto the same barren planet that Ziva had described. Captain America looked around, taking everything in. There was a pedestal with the Tesseract, which was glowing so brightly it hurt his eyes to look at it. He shifted his gaze to see a tall, blonde woman standing next to it. Off to the side was a stake stuck into the ground.

"Took you long enough," came a raspy female voice from that area.

Steve's heart sank as he realized that Ziva was chained to it- and Loki was holding his scepter at her throat. The next moment, it was pounding furiously with anger as he saw how terrible she looked. Ziva had been through quite a beating, and he had no doubt as to who had dished it out.

"Lay down your arms, or I'll cut her throat," Loki threatened.

"Fat chance, Reindeer Games," came Iron Man's computerized voice.

"Brother, you have gone too far this time," Thor yelled. "You kidnapped a child-"

"Hey!" Ziva interrupted. "And Loki, these people are the guys who kicked your butt the last time you tried to take over Earth. Now you just roll out the welcome mat? I thought Asgardians were supposed to be smarter than that."

Ziva would have continued, but Loki effectively silenced her with a kick- right where she had been stabbed. Ziva gasped as the wind was knocked out of her, replaced with a throbbing pain. Everything went black for a couple seconds. When she could see again, Loki was standing over her, and the blade on his staff was glowing bright blue. Hawkeye reluctantly threw down his bow and quiver. Steve's shield, Thor's hammer, Natasha's various weapons, and Tony's suit joined the pile. Amora chanted some words in what Ziva assumed was Norse, and everyone was wrapped in chains- they were now as helpless as she was. Ziva cursed herself in Arabic for getting them into this situation, but part of her was touched that they had come for her. However, she wasn't touched enough that she couldn't swear at them in her head for coming up with such an awful rescue plan.

Loki chuckled. "So this is what Earth's mightiest heroes have come to. Pathetic, falling for such an obvious trap. Now that I have you, Midgard is mine for the taking. Observe."

Natasha gasped as an alien army seemed to spring up from the very ground. They were taller than the Chitauri had been, and carried spears that crackled with energy.

"Impressive, is it not?" asked Amora. "This is their realm. And with the power of the Tesseract, we can open portals throughout this Earth, thus overwhelming its puny inhabitants."

"If we're so puny, then how come you need a planet's worth of aliens to invade us?" Tony quipped.

"My thoughts exactly," Clint chimed in.

Meanwhile, while all this was going on, Ziva was wracking her brain, desperately trying to think of a way to stop Loki. She groaned inwardly. It was hopeless; it wasn't like she had a magic-

Wait a second. _Mjolnir_ _ can only be lifted by one who is worthy._ Thor had told her that the day Tony had pranked her. Well, she needed to save the Avengers, and Earth. What could be worthier than that? Ziva slowly began crawling toward the pile of weapons. Stretching as far as she could, she barely managed to grasp the leather loop. She closed her eyes. _Please. I need to save my friends._ Ziva then pulled. To her amazement, Mew-mew moved. After slipping her hand through the loop, she grasped the handle. As soon as she did so, she felt better. Well, that was an understatement. She felt better than better, an unstoppable force. _Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy shall possess the power of Thor._ Ziva whipped her head up, searching for the man who had whispered that sentence. She couldn't find any such person, but decided there were more important things to worry about than voices in her head. Ziva jerked her leg, breaking the chain effortlessly. So she "possessed the power of Thor" now, huh? Well then. _Time to do some damage._

**Stay tuned for action scenes. Sorry if Loki's a little OC, but I figure better to characterize him as overly vindictive than as a good guy.**


	10. Battle

**Hardest by far for me to write. My beta had a lot to say when she edited it.**

Amora began chanting in Norse. Her eyes glowed green, and the Tesseract became glaringly bright. Thor struggled furiously against the chains wrapped around him, to no avail. Loki was again trying to invade Midgard, and this time he couldn't be stopped. The humans would suffer. Many would die, and it was all a result of his past foolishness. Amora kept chanting. Her eyes glowed brighter, and she began rising off the ground, only to be knocked senseless by what Thor realized was his own hammer. The Avengers watched, amazed, as Ziva held out her hand, and Mjolnir flew back into it. She then raised her arm, pointing it toward the sky. Lighting flashed, and thunder boomed. Loki turned toward her, raising his staff. Ziva simply pointed the hammer and electrocuted him.

Ziva then tossed Thor his hammer. Raising an eyebrow when no one moved, she said, "Well? Do I have to do everything, or are you guys gonna help out?"

Natasha started to yell a warning as she saw Loki get up, a murderous look on his face, but she was too late. Ziva let out a choked grunt as she was stabbed from behind. Loki pulled the staff out as she slumped to the ground.

"NOOO!" yelled Thor as he broke free.

He freed the others, and they all raced toward her. Thor grabbed Loki, locking his arms around his brother's head in what he remembered the archer calling a "double Nelson."

Ziva realized with surprise that she wasn't dead. The stab wound she'd gotten from Amora wasn't throbbing. She touched her face; her nose was no longer plastered over it. _Is it possible?_ She heard footsteps coming toward her, and turned over to see all the Avengers gathered around her.

"I'm good," she told them, slowly standing.

"How?" asked Loki.

"I don't just run fast, I heal fast, too," Ziva gloated, grinning. "Do your homework next time." Then she kicked him in the face. "That felt great." Ziva quickly pulled Bruce to the side as Amora threw a spear at him.

"Thanks," said Bruce.

"No prob, doc. Now we're even-TONY!."

Bruce had been pulled out of the way, but Tony had been standing behind him.

Amora picked up another spear. Growling, Clint shot her with an explosive arrow, knocking her back twenty feet.

"Guys," Tony began.

"No talking. Just relax, you're gonna be OK," Bruce shushed him. He was lying through his teeth, and they all knew it.

"No, tell Pepper I . . . That I . . ." Tony let out his last breath, and lay still, a trickle of blood coming from his mouth.

Ziva began hyperventilating. She flashed back to when she was eight years old, standing over another dying parent. She'd just met her father- she couldn't lose him now!

_No, _she decided. _This is not going to happen. I will NOT accept this._

Shoving her way through, Ziva pulled the spear out of Tony, and tossed it to the side, ignoring the shocked gasps. She then laid her hands on Tony's chest. She concentrated on what she needed to do- thinking about all the reasons she needed Tony alive, and then gave a mental push. Ziva almost doubled over in agony as a burst of pain exploded in her head, but stayed focused. It took about 5 seconds, but soon she heard the billionaire genius' snarky voice say, "What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me."

Ziva removed her hands when Tony started speaking and leaned back, slightly dizzy. "Nobody kissed you, you idiot," she mumbled before feeling two hands underneath her arms as Natasha hauled her up.

"You all right?" Natasha asked her. Ziva nodded.

"Um, I almost died. How is that idiocy?" asked Tony.

"Well, considering that I brought you back to life, I think I have bragging rights."

"What? How-"

"Long story. We should probably get our weapons and, you know, kill the alien army before it invades Earth. Did you bring my swords?"

"Yes, I did." Natasha had had a feeling that Ziva might need them.

"You are officially my favorite person." Ziva sighed as she saw Amora chanting again. "Thor, do you mind?"

Thor threw his hammer, knocking Amora unconscious again.

Loki took the opportunity to twist out of Thor's grip. He pointed his scepter at the Avengers, and said, "Kill them all," before running over to the Tesseract.

A strong wind rushed through the area, and when it had stopped, all the aliens stood erect- minus their heads. As the army toppled to the ground, Ziva reappeared. Smirking at Loki, she asked, "Got any more tricks up your sleeve?"

The ground seemed to burst with aliens. Natasha estimated that there were hundreds of thousands, if not millions. They were vastly outnumbered, far more than New York. Natasha knew that they'd all die today- except for maybe Ziva. But compared to some of the situations she'd been in, going down fighting with friends didn't sound too bad. Natasha ran over to the pile of weapons, grabbing her guns and knives. The others followed suit. Captain America began issuing orders.

"Stark, you're gonna be up high. Use your blasters, missiles, anything you've got. Thor, you and I are going to have to handle Amora and Loki. Ziva, use your speed, take them out." Ziva nodded and vanished. "Natasha, Clint, do what you do best. Bruce, you know what to do." Bruce nodded. He did. He allowed the rage, which he controlled so carefully, to overtake him. "Hulk smash!" the Hulk roared.

With that, they set to work. Tony flew above the fray and began launching missile after missile from his surprisingly large arsenal. Numerous explosions showed where he had been. But the aliens continued on, swarming over their dead brethren. Clint and Natasha steadily waded through, slashing, shooting, and shocking. The Hulk grabbed three aliens per fist at a time, crushing them and throwing them onto their comrades. A sonic boom signaled that Ziva wasn't staying out of the fight. Her favorite method was to run in a circle, holding her sword out until all the creatures within said circle had been decapitated. Then she would repeat it. She ran faster and faster, until a thick, choking dust cloud formed. But there just didn't seem to be any end to the little buggers.

Thor and Steve charged Loki and Amora, who were beginning to open a portal. Loki de-materialized; Thor ran straight through him. Loki reappeared behind him, sighing. "Are you ever not going to fall for that?"

Meanwhile, Steve slowly advanced. His last experience fighting an Asgardian had taught him to use caution. "We don't have to do this. Surrender, and there'll be no need to fight."

Amora laughed scornfully, then lunged at him with her sword. He barely blocked the strike with his shield.

Thor and Loki fought, hammer to spear. It was difficult for Thor, but he'd always been a better fighter than his brother. He hit Loki on the head, managing to knock him out. Then he turned to see that Rogers and Amora were still fighting. Thor raised his hammer and blasted her with lightning, temporarily incapacitating her.

Ziva, meanwhile, was getting tired. She stopped for a moment to rest before it became exhaustion. Turning her gaze, she saw that Loki was unconscious and Thor and Steve were standing over Amora. Ziva decided to check it out and zipped over.

Thor and Steve were fruitlessly trying to get Amora to call off the aliens. Ziva snorted and walked over to her.

"Ziva, you're supposed to be fighting," snapped Steve.

"I got bored," Ziva replied, yawning. "What's going on?"

"I cannot stop the attack," Amora told them. "They will advance until you die."

"Sure you can," said Ziva. "We just need to figure out how."

She spotted a glowing amulet around Amora's neck. Could that be what was controlling the aliens? Grasping the pendant and breaking the chain, Ziva saw Amora's face pale. _Yep, this is it_.

"Call them off, or else," she threatened.

"I cannot."

"Can't or won't."

"I will not," Amora hissed.

"Your funeral." Ziva dropped the necklace on the ground and crushed it. The entire army stopped for a moment. Then they began swarming the Tesseract, drawn to it like a moth to flame. "Now get us out of here, or you'll get killed too." Meanwhile, Thor quickly picked up Loki. Tony grabbed the Tesseract.

Ziva watched as Amora's eyes flickered away from her for a fraction of a second. The enchantress thrust up with her dagger, but her wrist was caught in a vice grip.

"Not this time, lady," Ziva told her. "Now beam us back."

Amora glared at her before muttering a spell. Their surroundings faded, to be replaced by a carpet, TV, and several couches. They were back at Avengers Tower.

The Hulk shrank down into Bruce Banner. After a couple seconds, he sat up and looked around. "Did I miss anything?"

"Oh, nothing. Just an almost alien invasion," Tony informed him.

Bruce shrugged and trudged off to his room for some well-deserved rest.

Natasha grabbed a comm unit as Thor set Loki down on the floor. "This is Agent Romanoff, requesting a prisoner transport unit. " Amora tried to slip away, but Clint put a stop to that, tripping her and twisting her arm.

Meanwhile, Loki groaned and began to stir. Quick as a flash, Ziva kicked him in the side of the head. "Payback," she told the unconscious Asgardian.

**And the next chapter will be the last. Thanks to all my readers for sticking with this story. And yes, I shamelessly used several quotes from the Avengers movie.**


	11. Gloating

**Whew! This is it!**

After Loki and Amora had been put in two of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s securest cells, Tony wanted to go to the shawarma restaurant to celebrate. To his dismay, a sign in the window read, _Sorry, We're Closed_.

"Nooo! Why?" groaned Tony.

"Ummm . . . probably because it's Christmas," said Bruce

Everyone turned to stare at him. "What is this Christmas you speak of?" asked Thor.

"It's a holiday celebrated every 25th of December. Originally created to celebrate the birth of Jesus," Natasha told him.

"But we can't have Christmas without shawarma!" Tony whined.

"Sheesh, calm down Stark. I'll make the shawarma if it means that much to you."

Everyone turned toward Ziva. "Wait a sec- you can cook?" asked Tony.

Ziva rolled her eyes. "Yes, Tony, I can cook."

"And you know how to make shawarma?"

"No, I offered to make something I've never heard of."

Ignoring her sarcasm, Tony told her, "If you weren't already an Avenger, I'd hire you as my personal chef."

"Don't get too excited. This is a one-time deal. Now you're gonna have to do a lot of shopping. And it's a good thing you're a billionaire, 'cause if there's gonna be enough for me and Thor we'll need a lot of meat."

Ziva took Tony's tablet and proceeded to type out a list. When Tony gaped at it, she told him, "Well? You want shawarma, I need my groceries. Hop to it, people! Oh, and you guys have to do the cleaning up. Merry Christmas."

Pepper came over to Ziva while she was setting grocery bags on the counter. Ziva let out a surprised grunt as the CEO hugged her tightly, squeezing all the breath out of her. "Thank you," she whispered, and then left.

"What was that all about?" Ziva wondered aloud.

"She was probably thanking you for saving Tony's life."

Ziva was surprised to hear Steve talking behind her. She turned around.

"Anyway, I never thanked you for saving my life, so thank you. What you did for Tony- that was amazing. He'd be dead if it wasn't for you."

"Yeah, well, if Tony died, I'd have no one to verbally spar with."

"Let me finish. You are a part of this team, and I'm sorry if I made you feel otherwise. However," he continued, "you never would've had to save Tony if you hadn't left. What you did was stupid, and it nearly cost you your life, _again, _as well as his. I know it worked out in the end, but it was still wrong. We're a team, but more than that, we're family. Families look out for each other, and they trust each other. You should've trusted that we were trying to help you."

As much as Ziva hated to admit it, he was right. She never could have lived with herself if Tony had died. Ziva had been betrayed by people she'd trusted before, but these guys were different. She cleared her throat, looked Steve in the eye, and said, "OK, I'm sorry that I got Tony killed and put you all in danger."

"Good." Steve started to leave, then stopped. "You know, we all need code names. Have you decided on one?"

Ziva's mouth formed a moue as she considered. What name would be best? Then it came to her.

"Sonic."

About 30 minutes later, Ziva stood chopping vegetables for the salad while the others bustled about, plugging in the rotisserie machine to roast the meat for the shawarma, cleaning up the kitchen, and setting out Christmas decorations. Natasha walked over to her. She'd been trained to read people and observe their habits, and Ziva's behavior was out of character. "Why are you doing this?" she asked her teammate.

Ziva gave her a funny look. "I'm _hungry_. When people are hungry, they make _food_," she explained as if Natasha was a small child.

"You never offered to cook before."

Ziva let out an exasperated sigh. "If you must know I'm not very good at Hallmark moments. This is my way of saying thank you for, you know, coming back for me and stuff . . ." her voice trailed off into a mumble.

Natasha raised an eyebrow. "You know you could've just said 'thank you', right?"

"I told you, I'm not good at Hallmark moments. I think Clint could use some help with getting that wreath up."

Natasha recognized the obvious red herring but chose to ignore it, opting to help with decorations instead of probing further.

"Are you crying?" she heard Tony ask Ziva.

Ziva glared at him. "I'm chopping onions. Onions make you cry. And if you want any shawarma, you'll quit pesting me."

"Whose recipe is this, anyway?"

"It's my mom's," Ziva snapped.

"What happened to her?"

"What makes you think anything happened to her?"

"Your response to my question."

Ziva glared at Tony. "Car accident. I was eight."

"What about your dad?"

Ziva began chopping even faster than she had been before; the cutting board began to smoke. "Never knew him. He left before I was born."

"Yeah, well, dads leave sometimes. You can't be a pussy about it."

Ziva's previous glare was nothing to the one she leveled him with this time. Sparks were practically shooting from her eyes. "Do I look like a pussy to you?" she growled.

"I think I'll go put up decorations now." Tony quickly backed away- he knew how to choose his battles.

This kid definitely had daddy issues. Natasha decided that she would start looking into Ziva's background. Maybe she could find out who her father was.

The meat took seven hours to roast. During that time, Ziva would often take a large knife and cut off pieces of meat, which fell onto a round tray set below. The Avengers gathered around the rotisserie machine, unashamedly nearly drooling, as Ziva took out the tray with the pieces of lamb meat and set it on the counter. The Avengers could put mango chili sauce and pickles on it, and put the whole thing in a pita. Slowly, the Avengers took their first bite. It was excellent- better than the shawarma they'd had after the Chitauri invasion.

"This shawarma, I like it. Another!"

"I'm not whatever you call waitresses on Asgard. Get your own shawarma," Ziva told Thor.

Tony stopped counting how many Ziva and Thor had eaten after they reached twenty sandwiches each. Those two could really pack it away.

Reminding everyone that she wasn't helping to clean up, Ziva ran up to her room and fell into her bed. She was exhausted and full, a great combination for sleeping.

The next morning, Ziva woke up early feeling refreshed. She looked around to see if anyone was up, but everyone apparently was sleeping in. Since no one was going to notice she was gone, she decided to go pay Loki a visit.

It took Ziva thirty seconds to get to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. She walked into the room where Loki's cell was. He looked awful- his hair was all poofy, and he had dark circles under his eyes. Loki seemed surprised to see her. She took her time walking around, grinning as she rapped on the Plexiglass.

"What do you want?" he finally asked her.

"Oh, just wanted to see where S.H.I.E.L.D. had locked you up. I like it. It's classy. Nice view out the front, white walls, oh- no spear and no glow cube. I'm jealous."

Loki now looked confused. "I do not understand."

"It's called gloating," Ziva explained. "It means I won, you lost, and I'm rubbing it in. It's lots of fun."

Now Loki looked annoyed.

"Anyway, you're riled up now. Nothing else I need. See you never." She turned to leave.

"Wait," said Loki.

Ziva stopped. "Yes?"

"You're an exceptionally beautiful person, with unique talents. I could use someone like you."

Ziva laughed. "And you think flattery is going to get me to go over to the dark side? Yeah. No." She turned to leave again.

"The man who killed your mother," Loki hissed. _"I know his name_."

Ziva felt like she'd been smacked with Thor's hammer. She couldn't speak.

"I know you joined the Avengers to find her murderer. I know you want revenge. You're consumed, and I understand how that feels. Let me out, and I will give you the answers you seek."

He sounded so sympathetic, so sincere. For a moment, Ziva was tempted.

Loki ground his teeth in frustration as he saw his only chance of escape vanish- literally.

**It's a wrap! Acknowledgements to Mom and sisters for supporting me and helping me improve this. And kudos to my beta for being an awesome editor. Without her, this story . . . well, let's just say it wouldn't be as good as it is now. Thanks to all my readers. Guest, if you're still reading this, thanks. You were my first reviewer; it really encouraged me. And Liara xox, you were the first user to share your thoughts. Gracias. ****I am in the process of writing a sequel, but it will probably take a while to finish . . . hopefully I'll have it done by the end of the school year and then I can start posting. I have a don't-post-before-finished policy. Trust me, you wouldn't have wanted me to post this before I finished it: it took me three months to write. Suggestions and requests for my sequel are welcome, but pairing requests will not be accepted. Period. Later!**

**Shieldmaiden**


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